THREE TO SEE
Missed it at the cinema or on TV? We round up the best streaming and DVD releases of the week
HUSTLERS (15) ★★★★☆
SLICKLY engineered caper. Inexperienced stripper Dorothy (Constance Wu) performs under the stage name Destiny. She hopes to take a huge bite out of 2007 New York but her lack of dance smarts is painfully evident. Veteran Ramona Vega (Jennifer Lopez) encourages the newcomer to embrace her sensuality to part male punters from their cash. Soon after, Dorothy falls pregnant. Returning to work as a cash-strapped single parent in the aftermath of the global financial crash, she teams up with Ramona plus fellow performers Annabelle (Lili Reinhart) and Mercedes (Keke Palmer), Dorothy to scam wealthy men to provide for her daughter. ■ Download/stream from January 6 and available on DVD/Blu-ray from January 20.
SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (15) ★★★☆☆
QUIETLY unsettling, youth-oriented yarn. Teenager Stella Nicholls (Zoe Colletti) blames herself for the breakdown of her parents’ marriage and seeks refuge in the company of ghouls from her favourite horror films and comics. On Halloween night, Stella and pals Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) play a prank on school bully Tommy Milner (Austin Abrams). The joke backfires and Stella, Auggie and Chuck suffer a grim fate. Inside the dilapidated mansion of the cursed Bellows family, the teenagers discover a dusty tome of scary stories. Freshly inked pages cast them as victims. Fiction bleeds into reality and Stella realises they are in grave danger. ■ Download/stream and available on DVD/Blu-ray from January 6.
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES (15) ★★★☆☆
JAMES (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) agrees to check into a six-week rehabilitation programme at the behest of his brother Bob (Charlie Hunnam). He must bare his soul in group therapy sessions and avoid contact with female patients or risk expulsion. Lingering glances across the cafeteria from Lilly (Odessa Young) test James’s resolve as he clashes with roommate Miles (Charles Parnell) and rejects the approach of psychologist Joanne (Juliette Lewis). He does, however, form a touching bond with resident sage Leonard (Billy Bob Thornton). Based on James Frey’s contentious memoir, A Million Little Pieces is an impressive feat of directorial will and ingenuity. ■ Download/stream from January 6.